A Police Ride

I did a Police ride-along with Sergeant Kota. Sergeant Kota was a very exciting and outgoing person. I could not have picked a better place to go for my community service. I made my way to the small Peoria Police station at 1 pm. I walked into the station, and Kota met me inside. We entered his police car and hit the streets. The first thing that we did was pull over speeders. Anybody who went over 80 miles an hour got pulled over. The first person that we pulled over was going 89 mile an hour! He got a very big ticket. When we pulled somebody over, I was allowed to get out and follow the Sergeant to the drivers window. After giving the ticket, we were off to find another speeder.

Pulling people over for speeding or having broken tail lights really put driving into a safe perspective for me. I really learned how the community benefits for Officers pulling speeders over. Kota and I arrived at the scene of a wreck around 4 pm. This accident was caused from two cars racing. Later on in the evening Kota took me on a gang bust. We went down to west Phoenix and caught a gang selling drugs. The Sergeant called for back up while keeping an eye on the gang bangers. This really made me believe how hard cop work was. Seeing the amount of gangs and criminal activity that goes on in these streets leads me to realize how much we need Officers of the Law. They are not only trying to protect the law abiding citizens, but also help shift the career path of frequent criminals. Sergeant Kota attends a meeting every weekend to help keep kids and young adults on the right path.

At right around 10 pm, we stopped our last speeder for the night. We pulled under an overpass, and caught somebody zooming by us with the radar gun. The person we pulled over was going 110 miles an hour. When we arrived, the girl driving was intoxicated, and had to be brought to jail in another police car. That made me think really hard, and I promised myself that I would never get behind the wheel after I had been drinking. At 11 pm, Sergeant Kota dropped me off at the police station, filled out the paper work, and I was on my way.

My ride-along effected the police force by helping kids like me realize how much crime there really is. Now I9 can go and warn others about the dangers of doing illegal things. That will make the lives of cops a whole lot easier. The value of community service is huge. Not only is it helping those in need, but also making the helpers feel as though they have done something. In my opinion, everyone needs to do community service. It really opens peoples eyes about what is going on in the world. Community service benefits peoples lives, and give homeless children and adults a place to feel happy and safe. This ride-along made me want to go out and do as much service as I can. I will continue to help, and hope others do the same